Lyndon Johnson August 27, 1908 in Stonewall, Texas – January 22, 1973 in Stonewall, Texas Political Party: Democrat Terms: November 22, 1963 – January 20, 1969 (One and a partial term) Vice President: Hubert Humphrey Thematic Context
Lyndon Johnson was president during a time where the American Identity was starting to make a change in a number of areas. One of these areas was the Civil Rights Movement, which had some of its most successful years during Johnson’s presidency. Leaders like Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had some of their best known years during Johnson’s term. This was not in spite of Johnson being president either. The pressures that men like those put on the presidency were enormous because it increased the amount of people that wanted to have equality in America. The Civil Rights Act during this time was one of the biggest American Identity changers of the period because of the intensity at which it happened. Johnson did not stop this at all; in fact he increased it by at least making as attempt to stop discrimination.
Another development was the war on poverty because it strived to change the standard of America being poverty stricken and having very poor areas. This affected the presidency because Johnson had the weight of desperate people on his shoulders, and he felt like he had to do something to help them, and that something was the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. This greatly helped families in need to get jobs and also to make sure that the children in the family were getting a descent education; they were at least getting a base that would help them get through life. These two major developments changed the way America was perceived and brought the morale up.
Thesis
Lyndon Johnson was president during where major domestic and foreign developments were taking place, like the Civil Rights movement and the Vietnam War. It was a time where his decisions could mean major success (like the ones based on consumerism), or they could mean major downfall (like the decisions regarding the Vietnam War). Johnson handled most of the issues in a positive way, and the country really benefitted from that, especially in a domestic matter because of dedication to making the country a better place in which to live. Overall, Johnson did a pretty good job of steering the country in the right direction, and he deserves a B+ for his efforts in office.
Goals
Johnson’s main goal throughout his whole presidency was the idea of the Great Society. This was what he used to describe the ideal America where everything is perfect, and everyone is happy. He proposed to do that by addressing five main domestic areas, which were Civil Rights legislation, the war on poverty, Medicare and Medicaid, environmental protection, and consumerism. Overall, Johnson was pretty successful in achieving this goal because each of those areas was covered during his presidency, and they were pretty equally spread out. Legislation was made to support each one of those issues, and the legislation all helped in some way, it was never a hindrance. Although Johnson did not say much about Vietnam during the campaign, it became clear once he was elected that he was in favor of putting more troops there because the number steadily increased each year. This actually backfired on him, especially because he did not say much about it during his campaign; the people were shocked that he did something that he did not say he would. Johnson did achieve the goals that he stated he was going to try and do very well though because the Great Society did get pushed along.
Relationship with Congress
Johnson overall had a good relationship with Congress. During his terms, he always had the majority on his democratic side in the both the House and Senate, so that means that there could never really be huge problems. It also allowed him to get the things that he wanted to do done. Congress did not really hold him back in a terrible way, and he never really had to use the veto on a controversial legislature. This meant that his Great Society legislations would all be passed when he needed them to, but it also meant that if things went sour, it would all be on him because he could not blame it on Congress interfering with his plans. His relationship with Congress is proved based on the fact that for each of the five areas in his grand plan, there were always multiple legislations passed for each one. An example of this is the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Although this act was not loved by almost all Republicans, the majority he had in Congress allowed it to get passed. It stopped the discrimination that went on in employment and public facilities and made it easier for blacks to be a normal part of everyday society. Because Johnson had the majority in Congress, the relationship between them was good.
Positive Event
The most positive event to come out of Johnson’s presidency was through his domestic policy and it was the war on poverty. Although the Civil Rights movement took a large step forward during his presidency, that was not all because of the decisions Johnson made. The war on poverty only happened because of the legislation that was passed during his presidency. This Economic Opportunity Act created the Office of Economic Opportunity and that funded five main programs in order to help the poor. These programs helped in the areas of education, child services, and job s. In many areas, the public schools were not very good, and the Volunteers in Service to America found people to teach in the ghettos in order to insure that they were at least getting some type of education. The Work Experience Program provided day care for children so that the parents could go to work during the day in order to make enough money to provide for the family. There were also a couple organizations that were made to get kids through college if they could not afford it, and tutoring for kids in school. The Economic Opportunity Act helped in so many different ways, and it was all done by one legislature.
Negative Event
The most negative event to come out of Johnson’s presidency was through his foreign policy and it was what he did in the Vietnam War. The most obvious reason why this was a bad decision was because the whole country, on average, did not want war, but he increased the involvement anyway. This caused many Americans to die, and the war was not even won so nothing was accomplished. This is the other main fault of the war. He increased the involvement to get nothing done except lose American lives. The excuse that was used in order to send troops over there was to protect the country from future attacks, but then only a few years later, the troops were pulled back. This means that there was not going to be another attack, and that the decision to put them over there in the first place was a bad idea. Another bad thing that happened during the whole war was that when peace talks finally were arranged, no peace came from the talks. The two sides could not put their differences aside and just talk, and instead they argued the whole time and nothing got done. That was another mistake on Johnson’s part. The whole Vietnam War was just not a good idea from the start.
Influential Decision
The most influential decisions that Johnson made all had to do with Civil Rights. The surge in the Civil Rights movement was one of the best things to come from the presidency, and it had the greatest lasting effect on future generations because the Civil Rights movement has done as much as it will ever do, which means it has succeeded. The steps that were made during Johnson’s term were the real start to the big breakthroughs in Civil Rights. The Civil Rights Act made it illegal to discriminate in employment and public facilities, so that broke down some of the barriers in restaurants, parks, and other places like that. He also passed an amendment that made sure States could not give unfair literacy tests or other things that could prevent the blacks from voting, so they finally had the full right to vote for the first time in their history. The things that Johnson did for that movement laid the stepping stones for the end of the national discrimination of blacks.
Conclusion
Overall, the country was in a better position when Johnson left than when he came in, so he did have a successful presidency, and he would have had a much better one had he not increased the involvement in Vietnam and caused so much American death. However, the country was doing much better domestically, as the Civil Rights movement was finally making its mark and winning some of the battles, and poverty was also being helped through programs made to do that. The Great Society was moving forward, and although it does not live any farther than Johnson, it did very well for the time that he was in office. For these reasons, Johnson deserves a B+ for his efforts in office.
Bibliography
Degregorio, William A. "Lyndon B. Johnson." The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents. 4th ed. Avenel: Wings, 2005. 563-78. Print.
"88th United States Congress." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 15 Dec. 2012. Web. 16 Dec. 2012.
"89th United States Congress." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2012.
Graff, Henry F. "Johnson, Lyndon B." Presidents: A Reference History. Ed. Henry F. Graff. 3rd ed. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2002. 499-516. Gale U.S. History In Context. Web. 17 Dec. 2012.
"90th United States Congress." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 15 Dec. 2012. Web. 16 Dec. 2012.
August 27, 1908 in Stonewall, Texas – January 22, 1973 in Stonewall, Texas
Political Party: Democrat
Terms: November 22, 1963 – January 20, 1969 (One and a partial term)
Vice President: Hubert Humphrey
Thematic Context
Lyndon Johnson was president during a time where the American Identity was starting to make a change in a number of areas. One of these areas was the Civil Rights Movement, which had some of its most successful years during Johnson’s presidency. Leaders like Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had some of their best known years during Johnson’s term. This was not in spite of Johnson being president either. The pressures that men like those put on the presidency were enormous because it increased the amount of people that wanted to have equality in America. The Civil Rights Act during this time was one of the biggest American Identity changers of the period because of the intensity at which it happened. Johnson did not stop this at all; in fact he increased it by at least making as attempt to stop discrimination.
Another development was the war on poverty because it strived to change the standard of America being poverty stricken and having very poor areas. This affected the presidency because Johnson had the weight of desperate people on his shoulders, and he felt like he had to do something to help them, and that something was the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. This greatly helped families in need to get jobs and also to make sure that the children in the family were getting a descent education; they were at least getting a base that would help them get through life. These two major developments changed the way America was perceived and brought the morale up.
Thesis
Lyndon Johnson was president during where major domestic and foreign developments were taking place, like the Civil Rights movement and the Vietnam War. It was a time where his decisions could mean major success (like the ones based on consumerism), or they could mean major downfall (like the decisions regarding the Vietnam War). Johnson handled most of the issues in a positive way, and the country really benefitted from that, especially in a domestic matter because of dedication to making the country a better place in which to live. Overall, Johnson did a pretty good job of steering the country in the right direction, and he deserves a B+ for his efforts in office.
Goals
Johnson’s main goal throughout his whole presidency was the idea of the Great Society. This was what he used to describe the ideal America where everything is perfect, and everyone is happy. He proposed to do that by addressing five main domestic areas, which were Civil Rights legislation, the war on poverty, Medicare and Medicaid, environmental protection, and consumerism. Overall, Johnson was pretty successful in achieving this goal because each of those areas was covered during his presidency, and they were pretty equally spread out. Legislation was made to support each one of those issues, and the legislation all helped in some way, it was never a hindrance. Although Johnson did not say much about Vietnam during the campaign, it became clear once he was elected that he was in favor of putting more troops there because the number steadily increased each year. This actually backfired on him, especially because he did not say much about it during his campaign; the people were shocked that he did something that he did not say he would. Johnson did achieve the goals that he stated he was going to try and do very well though because the Great Society did get pushed along.
Relationship with Congress
Johnson overall had a good relationship with Congress. During his terms, he always had the majority on his democratic side in the both the House and Senate, so that means that there could never really be huge problems. It also allowed him to get the things that he wanted to do done. Congress did not really hold him back in a terrible way, and he never really had to use the veto on a controversial legislature. This meant that his Great Society legislations would all be passed when he needed them to, but it also meant that if things went sour, it would all be on him because he could not blame it on Congress interfering with his plans. His relationship with Congress is proved based on the fact that for each of the five areas in his grand plan, there were always multiple legislations passed for each one. An example of this is the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Although this act was not loved by almost all Republicans, the majority he had in Congress allowed it to get passed. It stopped the discrimination that went on in employment and public facilities and made it easier for blacks to be a normal part of everyday society. Because Johnson had the majority in Congress, the relationship between them was good.
Positive Event
The most positive event to come out of Johnson’s presidency was through his domestic policy and it was the war on poverty. Although the Civil Rights movement took a large step forward during his presidency, that was not all because of the decisions Johnson made. The war on poverty only happened because of the legislation that was passed during his presidency. This Economic Opportunity Act created the Office of Economic Opportunity and that funded five main programs in order to help the poor. These programs helped in the areas of education, child services, and job s. In many areas, the public schools were not very good, and the Volunteers in Service to America found people to teach in the ghettos in order to insure that they were at least getting some type of education. The Work Experience Program provided day care for children so that the parents could go to work during the day in order to make enough money to provide for the family. There were also a couple organizations that were made to get kids through college if they could not afford it, and tutoring for kids in school. The Economic Opportunity Act helped in so many different ways, and it was all done by one legislature.
Negative Event
The most negative event to come out of Johnson’s presidency was through his foreign policy and it was what he did in the Vietnam War. The most obvious reason why this was a bad decision was because the whole country, on average, did not want war, but he increased the involvement anyway. This caused many Americans to die, and the war was not even won so nothing was accomplished. This is the other main fault of the war. He increased the involvement to get nothing done except lose American lives. The excuse that was used in order to send troops over there was to protect the country from future attacks, but then only a few years later, the troops were pulled back. This means that there was not going to be another attack, and that the decision to put them over there in the first place was a bad idea. Another bad thing that happened during the whole war was that when peace talks finally were arranged, no peace came from the talks. The two sides could not put their differences aside and just talk, and instead they argued the whole time and nothing got done. That was another mistake on Johnson’s part. The whole Vietnam War was just not a good idea from the start.
Influential Decision
The most influential decisions that Johnson made all had to do with Civil Rights. The surge in the Civil Rights movement was one of the best things to come from the presidency, and it had the greatest lasting effect on future generations because the Civil Rights movement has done as much as it will ever do, which means it has succeeded. The steps that were made during Johnson’s term were the real start to the big breakthroughs in Civil Rights. The Civil Rights Act made it illegal to discriminate in employment and public facilities, so that broke down some of the barriers in restaurants, parks, and other places like that. He also passed an amendment that made sure States could not give unfair literacy tests or other things that could prevent the blacks from voting, so they finally had the full right to vote for the first time in their history. The things that Johnson did for that movement laid the stepping stones for the end of the national discrimination of blacks.
Conclusion
Overall, the country was in a better position when Johnson left than when he came in, so he did have a successful presidency, and he would have had a much better one had he not increased the involvement in Vietnam and caused so much American death. However, the country was doing much better domestically, as the Civil Rights movement was finally making its mark and winning some of the battles, and poverty was also being helped through programs made to do that. The Great Society was moving forward, and although it does not live any farther than Johnson, it did very well for the time that he was in office. For these reasons, Johnson deserves a B+ for his efforts in office.
Bibliography
Degregorio, William A. "Lyndon B. Johnson." The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents. 4th ed. Avenel: Wings, 2005. 563-78. Print.
"88th United States Congress." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 15 Dec. 2012. Web. 16 Dec. 2012.
"89th United States Congress." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2012.
Graff, Henry F. "Johnson, Lyndon B." Presidents: A Reference History. Ed. Henry F. Graff. 3rd ed. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2002. 499-516. Gale U.S. History In Context. Web. 17 Dec. 2012.
"90th United States Congress." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 15 Dec. 2012. Web. 16 Dec. 2012.